The second Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that will provide world-class standards of care to patients, has opened in Al Ain.

Inaugurated by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region, this new facility follows the establishment of the first Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in Abu Dhabi in 2006 and is an extension of the partnership agreement between Mubadala Healthcare (a business unit of Mubadala Development Company) and Imperial College London, a science-based institution.

Dr Maha Taysir Barakat, medical & research director and consultant endocrinologist at Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) said that with the opening of the Al Ain facility, ICLDC now receives more than 10 thousand patient visits each month across the two centres.

“The opening of the second centre in Al Ain ensures many more people in the UAE have access to the world-class treatment for which Imperial College London Diabetes Centre has become known,” she said.

The facilities feature on-site laboratory tests and a unique paperless IT system which means that all patients are given results and recommendations in one visit.

Since becoming operational in September of last year, ICLDC’s Al Ain facility has already received two endorsements from the Joint Commission International (JCI) – the JCI Certification in the Clinical Care Program for Diabetes Management and the JCI Accreditation in Ambulatory Care, both held by ICLDC’s Abu Dhabi facility since 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Imperial College London Diabetes Centre is still the only facility in the world to hold both of these certifications.

The UAE ranks tenth worldwide for the prevalence of diabetes per capita of the adult population, and recent figures from the International Diabetes Federation suggest that 19.2 per cent of the UAE adult population are living with diabetes, half of whom are unaware that they have it.

ICLDC’s award-winning public health awareness campaign Diabetes-Knowledge-Action has reached out to patients across the Emirates and the region over the past six years.

“Partnering with international expertise to address one of our region’s most pressing healthcare issues is integral to our healthcare strategy and I am delighted with the tremendous positive impact that Imperial College London Diabetes Centre has had on our community,” said Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, chief operating officer of Mubadala Development Company.

“The expansion of this proven model of care into Al Ain is a testament to ICLDC’s success to date as well as our commitment to deliver world-class healthcare to the people of Al Ain and the surrounding region.” – TradeArabia News Service